On the evening of December 1st the nonprofit organization Rising Minds held a people auction in the Gorge to raise money for the organization. Rising Minds’ mission is “to unite people across borders to create and support organizations that will make positive, sustainable change.” Also stated in the mission statement is the belief that “education is the most powerful, proactive and sustainable means for creating change.” With this mission in mind the organization that is presently in partnership with Rising Minds is Los Patajos, meaning “The Little Ones.”
Los Patojos is an educational center in Jocotenango, Guatemala that “provides a safe space for 60 underprivileged” children every weekday and each week serves over 250 meals to the local community. Rising Minds provides funds and volunteers for Los Patojos. The school teaches students a range of subjects including “English, mathematics, juggling, micro-business, street performances, etc.” says GMC senior Jacqueline Terry.
The auction was inspired by that held by the GMC rugby clubs. A total of 22 people, both students and faculty, put themselves on the auction block. They were sold into 3 hours of servitude. Over the course of the auction a total of $400 was raked in. The average sale price was $17 with no one selling for less then $10. The top sale was Kyla Jaquish who was sold to Chelsea Carroll for a whopping sum of $32.75. Jacqi said that this event, “…supplies Los Patojos with enough funding to run the school for nearly an entire month, meaning the children get two meals a day plus clean water, the professors and staff get paid, the electricity bill is taken care of, and supplies like markers, books, or spray paint are paid for.”
The auctioneer for the evening was Jacqueline Terry, the on-campus coordinator for Rising Minds. She introduced each “item” to be auctioned with an enthusiastic and interesting sales pitch, also blasting from speakers were songs like the Thong Song. Jacqi says that there is a definite need for volunteers, particularly people to head up fundraising on campus next semester, as she will not be here. Jacqi will be interning for the organization from January 13th through April 17th. She is, “hoping to create a link between the College and Rising Minds, but I definitely need student support. If any one is interested, I have more information than I know what to do with and would be ecstatic to recruit some volunteers to help on campus or abroad.”
